Brunson's Late Free Throws Give MBB Win at Newbury

BROOKLINE, Mass. – The Mitchell College men's basketball team edged out Newbury College by a 74-73 final on Saturday afternoon in a New England Collegiate Conference showdown at Pappas Gymnasium.

Steffen Brunson scored eight of Mitchell's final 10 points, including a pair of three throws with seven seconds left, to propel the Mariners to victory. Newbury's Francisco Santiago missed a shot at the buzzer for the win, and Mitchell escaped with a road win in the league.

Brunson netted a career-high 26 points to lead all scorers. He shot 10-for-10 from the free throw line and grabbed six rebounds. The Mariners also got solid efforts from Landon Peabody (12 points, 6 rebounds) and Marvin Baker (11 points, 6 rebounds) off the bench.

Newbury led by as many as seven points in the early going, although Mitchell eventually pulled ahead on a jumper by Baker that made it 18-17 with 10 minutes to play in the half. Later in the stanza, the Mariners used a 13-0 run to open a 35-24 lead with 3:49 to go. Baker bookended the spurt with a three-pointer and a jumper, finishing the half with 11 points.

Mitchell, which led 39-35 at the break, stayed in front until a bucket by Santiago gave the Nighthawks the lead at the 13:34 mark. Newbury held the lead until an 8-0 run—which included four points from Connel Henderson—put the Mariners back on top with 3:40 to play.

Neither team led by more than four the rest of the way. Mitchell carried the lead into the final minute, but Wayne Massey drained a three with 18 seconds remaining to put the Nighthawks up by one. On the ensuing Mitchell possession, Brunson was fouled and tied the game with his first free throw. He then buried the second to put the Mariners up one, and Santiago's miss gave Mitchell its second straight league win.

Mitchell (7-4 overall, 2-1 NECC) will next play at Becker College on Tuesday, January 8 at 6 p.m.